Solitary fisherman

[madespace]

Hi all, just wanted to get feedback on this photo I took at Labrador Park yesterday at sunset.

Typical to Labrador Park on a Saturday evening, you have the usual visitors. Picnic-ing families, fitness buffs running along, couples in love having their wedding shots done, dog-lovers walking man's best friend... and of course avid photographers trying to capture a beautiful sunset on the West side.

1. Amongst all that chaos, there was this solitary fisherman, oblivious to everyone about him, the cool breeze in his fair, and (amazingly) even to the stunning setting sun directly in front of him. When the sun was at it's largest , he was focused on re-baiting his line and re-casting it. Not a fisherman myself I don't know what the urgency was... perhaps it's a dusk that fish bite the most? At this moment, he felt a little tug on the line and was reeling furiously to bring in his 'catch'.

2. With the tight framing of this shot, I was hoping to highlight the subject and his single-minded focus. I intentionally used as high an aperture as possible to keep him in focus while trying to dull the stunning sunset behind.

3. The picture was taken at 1/160sec, f/.6, ISO100. I've tweaked the levels a little to emphasise the silhouette of the fisherman - but just minimally.

4. Out of the 180 shots I took over the 2 hours I was there, this was the one that struck me the most. I'm just an amateur who would like to take photos that I can be proud of - one day! This is the very first photo I'm putting up for critique and would love to hear how I could improve (in terms of composition, exposure, etc, etc.).

Thanks everyone!

Madespace

p.s. hope the writeup is suitable.

 

[redtealongan]

Hi, the colours from the settling sun cast a nice, warm mood, but it is hard to see that he is "solitary" because he fills up most of the frame and his surroundings are not shown..

 

[sjackal]

Nice colors.

Maybe a horizontal orientation might work better so that his fishing rod can be seen fully?

 

[pplneedthelord]

perhaps you could have shoot this shot from a wider angle, then the fishing rod would not be cut off from the picture.

nice colours btw

 

[JacePhoto]

nice shot.

 

[denniskee]

1. Amongst all that chaos, there was this solitary fisherman, oblivious to everyone about him, the cool breeze in his fair, and (amazingly) even to the stunning setting sun directly in front of him. When the sun was at it's largest , he was focused on re-baiting his line and re-casting it. Not a fisherman myself I don't know what the urgency was... perhaps it's a dusk that fish bite the most? At this moment, he felt a little tug on the line and was reeling furiously to bring in his 'catch'.

2. With the tight framing of this shot, I was hoping to highlight the subject and his single-minded focus. I intentionally used as high an aperture as possible to keep him in focus while trying to dull the stunning sunset behind.

3. The picture was taken at 1/160sec, f/.6, ISO100. I've tweaked the levels a little to emphasise the silhouette of the fisherman - but just minimally.

1) i would have personally prefer using slower speed to get some motion blur of his hand reeling in the line, since u wanted to show the "furiousness".

2) the composition works for me, like the "eye contact" with the reel. color of sky is good and also like the orangy reflection on the railings.

3) like mention in (1), would have prefer slower speed. but the silhouette is good, can still see wee bit of the detail.

 

[imvane]

The overall composition and colour is good. Framing might be a little tight. As what the others have mentioned, showing a little more of the fishing rod could possibly make the fishing aspect more complete.

 

[night86mare]

1. Amongst all that chaos, there was this solitary fisherman, oblivious to everyone about him, the cool breeze in his fair, and (amazingly) even to the stunning setting sun directly in front of him. When the sun was at it's largest , he was focused on re-baiting his line and re-casting it. Not a fisherman myself I don't know what the urgency was... perhaps it's a dusk that fish bite the most? At this moment, he felt a little tug on the line and was reeling furiously to bring in his 'catch'.

2. With the tight framing of this shot, I was hoping to highlight the subject and his single-minded focus. I intentionally used as high an aperture as possible to keep him in focus while trying to dull the stunning sunset behind.

3. The picture was taken at 1/160sec, f/.6, ISO100. I've tweaked the levels a little to emphasise the silhouette of the fisherman - but just minimally.

4. Out of the 180 shots I took over the 2 hours I was there, this was the one that struck me the most. I'm just an amateur who would like to take photos that I can be proud of - one day! This is the very first photo I'm putting up for critique and would love to hear how I could improve (in terms of composition, exposure, etc, etc.).

good writeup, thumbs up for a effort rarely seen in critique corner.

1) the fisherman may be solitary, but you have not shown it. i do not wish to focus too much on a title, because if one criticises based on it, then the simplest solution is to change the title; nonetheless, one must be clear on their purpose when shooting - if you had a solitary theme in mind, then to get the best result, you should portray the concept, which can be done by introduction of a huge amount of space, with a stark silhouette filling the bottom corner - if it is possible.

2) silhouette photography is generally quite straightforward - most good silhouettes at those which are distinct, bring out an idea clearly, and simply put (i can't think of any way else) - aesthetically pleasing. here, you have the former two - i can see that it is a man, i can see that he is fishing, but i would not call this silhouette aesthetic in any sense of the word - it is too in-your-face, it is too tight, the man feels constricted, cropped.

3) good exposure, great color management - just right and not too over.. just take note that sometimes when you crop off parts of your subject (the fisherman AND the rod) it can have negative consequences on the image.

 

[EOS Revolution]

U need to zoom out abit so that we can see he is solitary. here we just see one guy, and there could be 10 or 20 fishermen around him and we would not know... but nice colours IMHO

 

[yuanzai]

I know a bit kiam pah to say this but this subject matter or this type of fisherman at the beach photo is a bit cliche...

not that the photo is not good or anything.. the colour and silhouette is quite good and the bokeh is pretty distinctive but to move up one level, there needs to be something more. maybe a even better framing or more interesting elements or some distinct action... yeah.. =]

 

[tirimasu]

Maybe if u crop away the fence and left the rod and half body, i suppose it will make a better shot..

 

[nemesis32]

I think the sun and silhouette but i think the crop is too tight. Also, someone who is fishing is not fisherman per say... in this instance, Angler will be more accurate i think..

 

[kangwei]

I suppose it would be better if the photo is shot further back. with the guys whole silhouette showing and the full fishing rod with the line. i feel that the photo is a tad too tight. you should give more space.


my 2 cents